February 2020 - Page 3 of 4

TuesdayFeb 11, 2020 9:00 am

USDA Unveils Two Additional Hemp Insurance Programs

On Thursday, the USDA announced that in the event of natural disasters, hemp farmers would enjoy the benefit of being covered under two crop insurance programs. The first pilot program referred to as the Multi-Peril Crop Insurance would be available to farmers during the 2020 planting season, and would be accessible for farmers in several counties in 21 states. The insurance program provides coverage for farmers whose crop was lost due to weather, fire, diseases, or other natural occurrences, and the insurance program covers hemp cultivated for fiber, grain, or CBD extraction. Insurance coverage will be availed to farms that…

MondayFeb 10, 2020 4:00 pm

Maine Backtracks on Plan to Double Hemp License Fees

The budding U.S. hemp sector can only be described as chaotic. After decades of prohibition, hemp cultivation became legal after Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill. However, the barebones legislation granted only one provision, all hemp had to have less than 0.3% THC for it to be legal. Months later, in October, the USDA published its interim final rule on hemp. In just a couple of months, the hemp industry was worth millions in sales. A large chunk of the demand for hemp can be attributed to cannabidiol (CBD), a chemical that's produced by the plant. It's said to have…

MondayFeb 10, 2020 9:00 am

Kentucky Lawmakers Pass Hemp Bill and Send it to the Governor

Hemp represents a new frontier for American farmers. If things go well, they may be saying goodbye to crops like soybeans and wheat. It has a multitude of applications, and it produces a group of chemicals called cannabinoids that have wide-ranging medicinal properties. The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp after decades of prohibition, classifying industrial hemp as cannabis with less than 0.3% THC. THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol) is responsible for marijuana's infamous 'high', and for hemp to be legal, it has to have minuscule amounts of it. Farmers can now grow the crop under state or tribal programs. The legislation also…

FridayFeb 07, 2020 4:00 pm

Pennsylvania Ag Authorities Start Receiving 2020 Hemp Permit Applications

During the 2020 planting season, Pennsylvania will be growing hemp for the fourth year in a row. The hemp program in the state was launched in 2017, whereby 14 research licenses were issued, and 36 acres of hemp were cultivated under the authority of Pennsylvania’s Industrial Hemp Research Act. The state has now started receiving applications for this year’s planting season. According to a press release, the limitations placed on the number of hemp permits and the amount of acreage per license was removed in 2019. The Department consequently issued 324 licenses for cultivating hemp, and the owners of the…

FridayFeb 07, 2020 9:00 am

Hemp Depot Slashes Feminized Hemp Seed Prices By 70%

On Tuesday, Hemp Depot announced that it is making a dramatic shift in the pricing of CBD-rich seeds to increase the economic viability and profitability of hemp farming for U.S. farmers. Hemp Depot is among the largest wholesale providers of the highest quality CBD oil products, seeds, and clones in the United States. Hemp Depot has developed a new process that is innovative and proprietary, which is used to create high volumes of feminized CBD seeds. These seeds produce a CBD-rich crop, and they will sold to farmers at an affordable price, which is 70% lower than the current market…

ThursdayFeb 06, 2020 4:00 pm

Seasoned Colorado Hemp Farmer Answers Nagging Questions from Beginners

Hemp has been called the next big cash crop for American farmers. The crop is insanely versatile, with applications in a variety of industries like textiles, construction, and nutrition. On top of that, it produces a group of unique chemicals called cannabinoids which have medicinal properties. Cannabidiol (CBD) especially has been receiving a lot of attention, and experts say the CBD industry might be worth $20 billion by 2024. The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp after decades of prohibition, giving farmers permission to grow the crop under state and tribal programs. Nearly a year later, the U.S. Department of Agriculture…

ThursdayFeb 06, 2020 9:00 am

A Peek into the Hemp Research at Jefferson University

Hemp has been dominating the conversation lately, especially in the agricultural communities, as the next great cash crop for American farmers. It is insanely versatile, said to have thousands of uses with applications in textiles, bioplastics, and construction being just a few of them. Unfortunately, the crop had been outlawed until very recently, and there's a desperate need for accurate data about hemp if the industry is to flourish. Thomas Jefferson University has been at the forefront of hemp research, and it has made a lot of interesting discoveries. Back in 2016, Australian philanthropist Barry Lambert gave $3 million to…

WednesdayFeb 05, 2020 4:00 pm

Wyoming Resubmits its Hemp Program to the USDA

On Friday, the Department of Agriculture in Wyoming resubmitted its hemp plan to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) asking for the authority to regulate the industry as required by the 2018 Farm Bill. Hemp production in the U.S. was legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, and on October 31, 2019, the USDA issued the interim final rules. The rules provide a regulatory framework for governing hemp at the federal level, provided the states can request for the authority to regulate hemp in their respective jurisdictions. States that had already submitted their hemp plans before the federal rules were…

WednesdayFeb 05, 2020 9:00 am

South Carolina Starts Receiving Hemp Applications for 2020 Season

For the past few years, American farmers have been on the lookout for a special crop. A hardy cash crop that doesn't demand a lot resources from planting to harvesting, and one that was guaranteed to ramp up their earnings. When Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill legalizing the growth and sale of industrial hemp and its extracts, they finally found it. Hemp is a variety of the cannabis plant, and it had been outlawed for decades before the legislation released it from prohibition. It classified industrial hemp as cannabis with less than 0.3% THC, and instructed states and tribes…

TuesdayFeb 04, 2020 4:00 pm

North Dakota Opts to Continue With Old Hemp Rules in 2020

At the beginning of 2019, North Dakota and Montana submitted their hemp plans to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The agency rejected North Dakota’s proposal since it was submitted before the interim final rules were released, but it is reviewing Montana’s revised plan irrespective of the stringent THC testing measures stipulated by the agency. Hemp and marijuana are almost similar, except that hemp contains close to zero levels of THC. THC is the psychoactive component of marijuana. Hemp is fibrous and can be used to make a wide range of products such as paper, clothing, rope, and cosmetics. It is…